December 22, 2024 4:28 pm
penny and cobbler
2 swans
This OneForTheDay post shares fun facts about swans, [mostly mute swans] and deals with misunderstandings, misconceptions and the low end of human nature.
pen and cob
The plumage has been growing back after the annual spring moult.
Female [pen] and male [cob] a breeding, bonded-pair of mute swans.
the good
Swans where they inhabit around the world, have a type of mystique surrounding their existence.
That mystique is shrouded in folklore and myth, of which this blog entry will not delve into.
There is a plethora of cultural tales awaiting anyone’s research capabilities.
If you are into that -Please Go Explore!
Describing swans will often include adjectives –majestic and regal.
This also perpetuates the folklore and myths, so onward they march.
There is no doubt about the poise and graceful appearance of swans.
That is very observable.
I have a bias toward the mute swan species, [from the childhood memories when living in the UK] so most of this post will be about mutes. However, there are many similarities within the varieties, size [tundra swans are smaller], sex differences [males are generally larger, thicker necked too], diet, breeding etc., and where applicable it may be noted.
This should not be regarded as reference material; it is from my general understanding and observations as I trek upon natures’ pathways.
Having stated that -lets dig in!
a mute on Grenadier pond
The three main swan varieties mentioned in this post’s entry are:
Mute
Trumpeter
Tundra
All three are the dominant species in the northern hemisphere.
The black swan is a resident in the southern hemisphere -notably Australia and New Zealand, although imports of various species have occurred globally throughout history.
Coloring
The mute swan has what is called a black Basel knob at the forehead, thought to be a sexual attractor at breeding times, yet not fully understood.
Also a sign of maturity; the fleshy knob appears when the cygnets reach adulthood.
Cygnets are covered in a soft white down until the first moult [the year after hatch]
Mutes also have yellow/orange bills, whereas trumpeter and tundra swans have black bills and no basel knob.
Mute, Trumpeter and Tundra swans have a striking all-white feather plumage that moults every spring.
Stunning plumage
To view and understand the spring moulting please go to this swan site.
Bonding
Breeding pairs will bond for life.
feeding on roots, tubers and aquatic grasses
Habitat
Mostly inland lakes, waterways, rivers and canals in the global temperate regions.
They are native to Europe and Asia.
Swans need a fairly long runway on open water to gain flight, if found on a frozen lake or waterway, it can be a death sentence -fraught with starvation / predator capture or shock from exhaustion and stress.
Nesting
Nesting sites tend to be built on land close to the water’s edge. It is often built mostly by the male, females do contribute.
The nest is quite large -perhaps 6 feet in diameter with sticks and intertwining twigs lined internally with soft materials and feathers etc..
Eggs are large white/cream colored and number 4-7 in a single clutch.
The female tends the nest almost exclusively with the male protector taking up incubation duties when the female needs to feed.
Diet
Diet consists of subaquatic plant life -tubers, grasses, roots, small fish scooped by sifting, they are not hunters of prey.
paddle on
Swan and cygnet out for a paddle.
The chick’s bill does not have the basel knob yet, and appears duck-like.
the bad
Anxious Cobbler
Cobblers’ feathers have fully grown back after his spring moult.
Heading down to where threatening invaders have entered the breeding pairs territory.
Penny the female, is on the nest incubating.
Feeding wildlife
At the pond edge, tense moments were building.
A woman out walking 5 German shepherds, brought them to the water’s edge.
They were barking with excitement at mallard ducks being fed with handfuls of past-due-date bread.
There are many signs posted at the pond edges that specifically warn the public
DO NOT FEED THE WILDLIFE
and the reasons why.
Some signs are huge -6 feet by 4 feet, but there is often a lineup of people with shopping bags and children in tow, teaching them how to feed the wildlife.
The frenzy of 20 plus ducks eager to party away at food that is so unnatural to them, and eventually turning the water into an acidic condition.
I was sternly told to mind my own business as I pointed to the signs.
The melee brings the dog walker.
The dogs get excited.
They bark and snap, the woman had difficulties holding the dogs back and was getting pulled closer to the water.
Cobbler sees his territory invaded and senses a threat to his mate nesting on their clutch of eggs a short distance away.
He powered toward the disturbance agitated and determined to shoo-off the invaders.
cobbler
At the water’s edge in full-on confrontation mode, Cobbler stood tall and spread his massive, now flapping wings at the dogs.
He gave head shakes and open billed aggressive hisses, including showing his tongue in an awesome display.
The ducks had already made their way when Cobbler appeared.
The German shepherds turned their tail, scampered and whimpered back up the ramp.
The day had been won.
I have never seen a display like that before.
It was protective!
It was defensive!
swans tongue
The above encounter took place at Grenadier Pond, High Park Toronto.
As if the above encounter wasn’t enough to contend with on an everyday kind of basis, there are constant attacks on the future existence of mutes in Ontario, Canada.
Mute swans are not a protected species and are labelled invasive to the Americas.
Egg oiling
Please view my blog entry :
| Select Sunnyside Up But The Mute Swans Are Not Happy Not Even 1 of Them! | Sunnyside Up But The Mute Swans Are Not Happy Not Even 1 of Them! |
|---|
Part of the mute swan management program is to oil the eggs of successful breeding so that the embryo inside suffocates from lack of oxygen.
I have found abandoned nests with eggs oiled for this purpose.
This management program was enacted and set in place to favor the trumpeter swan.
Behavior
There are numerous misconceptions about mute swan behavior and aggressiveness.
preen “n clean
Mean, aggressive and territorial
Bad for the environment
Hunt and eat fish
Mute -without vocalizations
Mean [bad tempered] and aggressive
I have monitored and photographed mutes for decades and have yet to witness a single act of being mean or showing bad temperament.
I have certainly witnessed aggressiveness when it had been deemed warranted for the birds own safety, its mates and chicks’ welfare.
The above encounter is the perfect example of that.
Here are a few equivalent examples of aggressive behaviors in the [animalia] world to ponder.
Try opening up a hornet’s nest.
Walk into a colony of terms without protection or helmet.
Walk within 100 yards of a red-tailed hawk, bald eagle or even a red wing blackbird nesting site.
Red-wings are known to even harass raptors in defense of their breeding site.
This list could be [and is] -endless.
I believe the point that I’ve tried to highlight should be clear!
Unfortunately for some -it is not and they would never think to ask why.
Bad for the environment
This is such a false and odd statement to make.
The feeding habits of mutes are no different than those of trumpeters and tundra swans.
Hunt and eat fish
swan snug
On my way back to the parking lot after a day of photographing in the park, I found a group of fishermen set up for night fishing at Grenadier Pond.
‘Hi guys, how’s it going, have you caught anything?’ I asked in a friendly manner.
‘Nope, but we’d have a better chance if the damned swans weren’t here’, was the reply.
I asked if I could sit with them for a moment or two.
‘Yeh sure, what have you been photographing?’
‘Oh birds, and other things… like some of the swans that you may not like having around’. then pointed to the swan on the far side of the pond.
We talked about their unhappiness with not being able to catch fish, because of the feeding habits of the resident swan pair and others that occasionally flew in.
It did not matter how much I tried to explain the swan’s diet, which does not include hunting and preying on fish -and that they were essentially herbivores. The fishermen’s minds were hard and fast locked-in on the belief that swans eat what the fishermen were hoping to catch -the fish.
I experienced a failure to deter their misconception -perpetuating ignorant beliefs.
freindly cobbler
Man playing with cobbler
Several days later I found a man playing a kind of tug o’ war with Cobbler.
Cobbler was not agitated at all and seemed to enjoy the process of holding the man’s hand in his bill and pulling back.
Cobbler could have easily stopped that activity and swim away if he wanted to.
But he didn’t.
It sure looked like there was a bond between man and bird.
I walked close enough to engage conversation.
Cobbler moved away as I approached the pair, it was still the breeding season and Penny was on her nest incubating, so I was very surprised with Cobbler’s willful play.
playful or head scratch
I’m pretty sure my part of the conversation, did not meet with great approval.
My approach to wildlife is to stay that philosophical arms reach away, and not encourage wildlife to be without fear when interacting with humans.
I have developed an innate mis trust for human motivations.
He stated his case for his bonding activities, I stated my side for what that might lead to.
We parted company, on friendly terms.
I turned around at some distance away to find the pair back -playing tug o’ war!
The Ugly evil
I did not want to write the following chapter but felt it should be included.
It was difficult.
— Spoiler Alert– unhappy ending follows!
Cobbler! The very sad ending.
penny
I saw Cobbler and the man playing their game at the pond edge two more times over the next week.
We did not talk.
I kept my distance.
The last time I saw them, the man shouted at me in a distressed state.
He was on his knees, crying and holding Cobbler’s head and neck in his lap.
‘They have killed it...’ he kept saying.
‘They killed my swan..’
Cobbler had been brutally attacked and suffered massive head injuries.
I told him to call Toronto Wildlife Center… my phone was dead!
My thoughts went to Penny.
How is she going to cope, feeding herself and rearing this year’s cygnets.
I should not have worried too much.
Looking at the nest several days later it was abandoned.
Penny was not to be found by me again.
The eggs were in the nest, all 4 had been oiled.
Penny had been trying to incubate dead eggs for weeks, through heat and thunderstorms – all for nothing!
Why not take the eggs away?
All that false hope for nothing.
It is so cruel!
Her last days on the nest without Cobbler, she would have almost starved to death in the quest for the safety of the swans future brood.
It seemed like the brood-line was destined to end.
One way or another!
I’m beyond saddened with human nature!
Rest in peace my brave warrior!
OneForTheDay by Nats.
Nats, a photographer, writer, and contributing editor for natwild.com and the OneForTheDay blog, is reachable through this site. Feel free to log in, subscribe, and leave comments.
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